Pave Lows Busy Until the End:MH-53 aircrews, civil engineers top most deployed list for fiscal 2008

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Pave Lows Busy Until the End

MH-53 aircrews, civil engineers top most deployed list for fiscal 2008
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Dec 28, 2008 10:30:53 EST

If your job in 2008 was flying MH-53 Pave Low helicopters or performing civil engineering duties, the chances are good you were one of the year’s most deployed airmen.

The active-duty aircrews spending the most time away from home were those flying the MH-53, a 46,000-pound special operations helicopter in use since the Vietnam War.

On average, MH-53 pilots, flight engineers and aerial gunners logged 144 days on temporary-duty assignments, or TDY, during fiscal 2008, according to Air Force figures.

The second-most-deployed aircrews were the 13-man teams flying EC-130E Compass Calls, electronic warfare planes often based in Afghanistan.

The most-deployed mobility crews were C-17 fliers at 112 days, while the fighter aviators with the highest demand were F-15E Strike Eagle crews at 91 days.

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http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/12/airforce_busiest_010509w/%2e